 | | The Black Keys |
Hell, you’ve probably been possessed with a sudden bout of Southern enthusiasm and rocked out in the privacy of your own bedroom. And who can blame you? They are a VERY good band. They’ve taken that familiar rock template – the blues – and made it sound like the most exciting music in the world – again. But sorry to sound smug, if you haven’t seen this pair live you can’t even begin to imagine just how good they are. You know the score with drums/guitar rock duos – they’re usually hyped beyond all recognition. Luckily for the Keys it’s a fate they’ve avoided thus far, which makes tonight’s Academy 2 gig feel like a secret club only a few hundred people know about. And it’s why the eruption of excitement that greets Dan Auberach and Patrick Carney is deafening. Launching straight into Thickfreakness, it’s clear this is one of those increasingly rare bands that reach another level on stage, injecting an intensity into their songs that cannot be reached on record. Auberach’s vocals - while undoubtedly powerful – hint at a fragility you just can’t hear on home speakers. And Carney pounds his drums so hard it’s hard to believe the skins aren’t changed after every song. And what songs they are. Raw, uncompromising and steeped so deep in the aura of blues history, you can practically smell the swamp and see the delta. Indie kids, middle-aged rockers and old bluesmen all nod in appreciation and stare open-mouthed at the flurry of activity on stage. Tales of love and heartbreak spew forth at a rattling pace that only really let up when the pair stride off stage. They come back on, of course – a mini-riot might have erupted if they didn’t – and grown men roar approval for the blues-swamp-stomp, Grown So Ugly, that begins with a man putting on his shoes. Go figure. Your Touch follows and brings home just how good new album Magic Potion is, before the inevitable riff of Have Love, Will Travel brings down the house – and very nearly Auberach’s vocal chords. | 
